Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All

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Sanna-Leena Rautanen

Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for

Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All

Julkaisu 1373 • Publication 1373

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Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto. Julkaisu 1373 Tampere University of Technology. Publication 1373

Sanna-Leena Rautanen

Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for

Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All

Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented with due permission for public examination and criticism in Rakennustalo Building, Auditorium RG202, at Tampere University of Technology, on the 18^th of March 2016, at 12 noon.

Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto - Tampere University of Technology Tampere 2016

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ISBN 978-952-15-3707-3 (printed) ISBN 978-952-15-3718-9 (PDF) ISSN 1459-2045

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Department:

Faculty:

University:

Department of Civil Engineering

Faculty of Business and Built Environment

Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland

Instructor and Custos: Adjunct Professor Jarmo J. Hukka, DSc (CivEng) Department of Civil Engineering

Supervisor: Adjunct Professor Tapio S. Katko, DSc (CivEng) UNESCO Chair

Department of Civil Engineering

Pre-examiners: Vilja Varho (PhD), Researcher

Economics and Society, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland

Martin Mulenga (PhD), Senior Researcher/Lecturer in Sanitary Engineering

Environmental Engineering and Water Technology Department UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the

Netherlands

Opponent: Dr. Julie Fisher (BA, MA, PhD, FHEA)

Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)

John Pickford Building School of Civil and Building Engineering Loughborough University, United Kingdom

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ABSTRACT

Tampere University of Technology PO Box 527, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland http://www.tut.fi

ABSTRACT OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

Author: Sanna-Leena Rautanen

Name of dissertation: Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All

Abstract

The lack of adequate safe drinking-water together with poor sanitation and hygiene imposes an extremely high disease burden on millions of children and adults. This compromises well-being and productivity, and aggravates the cycle of poverty. Cultivating capacity for change is an important element of practically every policy reform, development programme, and country strategy aiming to improve well-being of its citizens, and with it also, e.g., water services and sanitation. The purpose of this dissertation was to recommend ways for rural water and sanitation sector specific programmes and projects to inspire capacity change for continued learning, adaptation, and innovation in the face of ever-new challenges in a volatile and unpredictable local and global environment, while the system in itself was assumed to be complex and wicked already at the present time.

The specific objective was to develop futures-oriented frame of reference that can be applied for policy, programme, and project purposes. It draws from a wide range of action research the author has been involved with in Nepal, Guyana, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. It consists of six international peer-reviewed scientific articles and three case studies. The approach is constructivist and actor- oriented, it pays attention to agency and institutions, is plural rather than singular, differentiating rather than generalizing. The frame of reference is based on three analytical levels: 1) individual, 2) organizational/institutional, and 3) enabling environment.

Rural water sector must pay attention to rural livelihoods and cross-sectoral issues to truly benefit rural development and well-being. This can be done through the multiple-use water services paradigm, adding ecological sanitation. Two of the articles studied a bi-lateral water project in Nepal that combined water supply, sanitation, irrigation, and hydro-energy with livelihoods, small cottage industries and micro-finance (cooperatives) within one project operating through local government.

Conceptually and policy-wise complex system translated into tangible benefits and positive impacts in the poorest and remotest corners of Nepal once the enabling environment was conducive to allow this. It proved out to be a useful instrument for making change happen, empowering communities and encouraging continuous learning, innovation, and adaptation. Empowerment is here defined as group’s or individuals’ capacity to make effective choices and then transform these choices into desired actions and outcomes and with these, into services and benefits.

Capacity related interventions need to have a vision that goes further than just the present state of affairs. Appreciating the complexity and dynamic nature of the rural water sector, the system should not be split into individual components or activities, such as individual training courses or narrow mandates that do not consider the broader framework within which they must operate and change.

The ‘capacity cube’ in this dissertation represents the ‘present’ that moves across its different dimensions simultaneously and is in constant change in time. Framing the ’cube’ allows the project or programme planners to establish the external layers of reference to give shape for the time dimension, the expected results (‘services’), the external and internal drivers and barriers to change in terms of enabling environment, and the institutions and humans therein. Among others, it recommended to further study scale application of multiple use water services with ecological sanitation in the livelihoods context and the rural water service delivery paradigm.

Keywords: water, sanitation, rural, capacity,

livelihoods, future, change Language: English Number of pages: 112 Publication: TUT Publications 1373

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TIIVISTELMÄ

Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto PL 527, FI-33101 TAMPERE http://www.tut.fi

TIIVISTELMÄ

Tekijä: Sanna-Leena Rautanen

Julkaisun nimi: Saatteko vettä? Dynaamisten toimintavalmiuksien vahvistaminen maaseudun kestävän vesihuollon ja sanitaation järjestämiseksi kaikille (Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All)

Käsikirjoituksen päivämäärä: 23.01.2016 Väitöksen päivämäärä: 18.03.2016

Tiivistelmä

Puhtaan ja riittävän juomaveden ja sanitaation puute koskettaa erityisesti kehittyvien maiden maaseutua, jossa kahdeksan asukasta kymmenestä kärsii edelleen riittävän juomaveden puutteesta, yhdeksän kymmenestä huonosta sanitaatiosta, ja neljänneksellä asukkaista ei ole minkäänlaisia käymälöitä. Toimintavalmiuksien vahvistaminen (capacity development) muutoksen aikaansaamiseksi eri tasoilla sisältyy lähes kaikkiin kehitysstrategioihin tavalla tai toisella, vesi- ja sanitaatiosektori mukaanluettuna. Tämän väitöskirjan tarkoituksena on rakentaa tulevaisuus- suuntautunut viitekehys, joka toimii alati muuttuvissa tilanteisissa ja pystyy vastaamaan muuttuviin haasteisiin. Nämä haasteet voivat olla niin paikallisia kuin globaaleihin muutoksiin liittyviä, haasteita joita ei voi eikä tarvitsekaan täsmällisesti tietää etukäteen. Maaseudun vesi- ja sanitaatiopalvelut nähdään kompleksisena systeeminä ja myös ns. ‘ilkeänä ongelmana’.

Väitöskirja rakentuu kirjoittajan suorittamalle toimintatutkimukselle Nepalissa, Guyanassa, Tansaniassa ja Bangladeshissa vuosina 2000-2015. Työ koostuu kuudesta vertaisarvioidusta artikkelista ja kolmesta tapaustutkimuksesta sekä näiden synteesistä. Tutkimuksen lähestymistapa on konstruktiivinen ja tulevaisuus-suuntautunut. Se kiinnittää huomiota kohderyhmän ja instituutioiden mahdollisuuksiin ja kykyyn toteuttaa palveluita ja tehda päätöksiä muuttuvan tilanteen vaatimalla tavalla. Toimintavalmiuksia lähestytään 1) yksilötasolla; 2) organisatorisella ja instituutioiden tasolla, ja 3) suotuisan toimintaympäristön näkökulmasta.

Maaseudun vesisektorin on kiinnitettävä huomiota maaseudun kehitykseen sen laajemmassa viitekehyksessä ja läpileikkaavasti, koska vesi on tärkeä tekijä monessa elinkeinossa.

Vesihuoltopalveluita voidaan toteuttaa siten, että ne palvelevat veden moninaiskäyttöä ja yhdennettyä suunnittelua myös yhteisötasolla ja paikallisina ratkaisuina. Tähän voidaan liittää myös ekologinen sanitaatio. Kaksi tämän väitöskirjan artikkelia käsittelivät veden moninaiskäyttöä Suomen tukeman kahdenvälisen Nepalin vesihankkeen yhteydessä. Hanke toteutetttiin paikallishallinnon kautta alueilla, jotka lähes kaikilla kehitysmittareilla mitattuina ovat Nepalin köyhimpiä ja vähiten kehittyneitä piirikuntia. Toimintamallit voimaallistuttivat kyliä ottamaan aktiivisen roolin muutoksen suunnittelussa, toteutuksessa ja myös palveluiden ylläpidossa, samalla kun tilaa jätettiin paikallisille sovelluksille. Voimaallistumisella tarkoitetaan tässä yksilöiden ja ryhmien kykyä tehdä päätöksiä ja toimiä niiden mukaisesti yhteisten hyötyjen kuten vesihuoltopalveluiden saavuttamiseksi.

Toimintaympäristön muutosta tukevien hankkeiden, ohjelmien ja politiikkojen pitää olla tulevaisuussuuntautuneita. Niiden pitää myöntää toimintakentän kompleksisuus ja ’ilkeiden ongelmien’ läsnäolo dynaamisessa ympäristössä. Yksittäiset koulutukset ja kurssit eivät vielä ratkaise ongelmia ja takaa palveluiden saatavuutta, vaan on katsottava laajempaa toimintaympäristöä ja siinä tapahtuvia muutoksia. Väitöskirja esittelee toimintavalmiuksien vahvistamiseen liittyvien toimenpiteiden suunnittelun tueksi ’kuutio-ajattelua’, jossa ensin määritellään eri ulottuvuuksien reunaehdot, rajoittavat tekijät, mahdollisuudet ja ääritapaukset:

menneisyydessä, nykyisyydessä ja tulevaisuudessa.

Avainsanat: vesi, sanitaatio, maaseutu,

toimintavalmiudet, tulevaisuus, muutos Kieli: Englanti Sivumäärä: 112 Jakelu: TUT Julkaisut 1373

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation was prepared at the Faculty of Built Environment, Department of Civil Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, Finland. In practice four out of the six peer reviewed articles, and practically all related other studies and conference papers were prepared over several years of working in the field with the rural communities in three continents, in the work-related contexts. These remote rural areas continue to inspire me to learn more, to constantly seek for ways to do better.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisors Adjunct Professor Tapio S. Katko and Dr. Jarmo J. Hukka, for their patient guidance and encouragement over the years. My grateful thanks for the pre-examiners Dr. Martin Mulenga, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, and Dr. Vilja Varho, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), for their useful critiques of this synthesis. My grateful thanks also to my opponent, Dr. Julie Fisher.

I wish to thank the Academy of Finland for the first year when I worked as a researcher in the Governance of water and environmental services in long term perspectives (GOWLOP #210816) project, and Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki r.y. for the final year, for giving an opportunity to finalize this long process. In between, I wish to express my great gratitude for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland, Plancenter Ltd/FCG International Ltd., and UNICEF-Guyana, all of whom created enabling working environments where it was possible to combine my research interests with the actual project or programme work to mutual benefit.

The encouragement from the various team members of the Capacity Development in Water and Environmental Services (CADWES) research group is hugely appreciated. Without this anchor point to Tampere University of Technology I might have got lost in the remote fields without ever completing this work! I wish to dedicate this dissertation to the late professor Matti Viitasaari, who significantly affected my choice of devoting my professional career to rural water and sanitation in developing countries.

My special thanks are extended to my close colleagues and lovely friends in Nepal, Finland, Guyana, and Tanzania for their enthusiastic encouragement, inspiration, and friendship over the years. Let the adventure continue!

Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks to my parents Aila and Matti for never giving up thinking that one day this work is completed, and to my partner Pekko for all his support and company.

May All Beings Be Happy!

Sanna-Leena Rautanen

January 23, 2016, Pokhara, Nepal

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Predecessors of capacity-development/knowledge networks ... 16

Table 2.2 General trends in development theory over time ... 18

Table 2.3 Factors influencing sustainability of rural water schemes ... 37

Table 3.1 Summary of article and case study specific objectives, methodologies and data sources ... 41

Table 4.1 Comparative data from country cases ... 49

Table 4.2 Summary of approaches and working tools ... 55

Table 5.1 Assessment on the validity and reliability of the study... 79

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Research process ... 8

Figure 1.2 Structure of the research ... 9

Figure 1.3 Wider theoretical framework ... 11

Figure 2.1 Capacity-development framework in FAO ... 15

Figure 2.2 Frame of reference ... 20

Figure 2.3 Three pillars of IWRM ... 31

Figure 3.1 Research process and articles over time ... 40

Figure 3.2 Cycles of action research ... 43

Figure 4.1 Integrative framework for analysing dynamic capacity change in time ... 48

Figure 4.2 Bringing ecological sanitation and MUS together ... 66

Figure 5.1 Detailed frame of reference ... 67

Figure 5.2 Approaches and tools ... 69

Figure 5.3 Changes in time ... 70

Figure 5.4 Frame of a capacity cube ... 72

Figure 5.5 Change in time – the entry point ... 74

Figure 5.6 Change in time – within limits ... 75

Figure 5.7 Change in time – crossing the limits ... 76

Figure 5.8 Change in time - cases ... 77

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LIST OF BOXES

Box 1.1 Capacity development in the Paris Declaration ... 5

Box 2.1 Capacity-building and capacity-development related definitions ... 17

Box 2.2 Definitions of IWRM ... 30

Box 4.1 Definitions of WUMP and Step-by-Step ... 54

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LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS

This dissertation is based on the following original peer reviewed articles, which are referred to in the text by their roman numerals I to VI:

I. Rautanen, S.-L., Luonsi, A., Nygård, H., Vuorinen, H., & Rajala, R. (2010). Sanitation, Water and Health. Environment and History, 16(2), 173-194.

doi:10.3197/096734010X12699419057250

II. Rautanen, S.-L., van Koppen, B., & Wagle, N. (2014). Community-Driven Multiple Use Water Services: Lessons Learned by the Rural Village Water Resources Management Project in Nepal. Water Alternatives, 7(1): 160-177. Retrieved March 29, 2015 from http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol7/v7issue1/239-a7-1- 10/file

III. Rautanen, S.-L., & Baaniya, U. (2008). Technical work of women in Nepal's rural water supply and sanitation. Water International, 33(2), 202-213.

doi:10.1080/02508060802027687

IV. Rautanen, S.-L., & White, P. (2013). Using Every Drop – Experiences of Good Local Water Governance and Multiple-use Water Services for Food Security in Far-western Nepal. Aquatic Procedia, 1, 120-129. doi:10.1016/j.aqpro.2013.07.010

V. Rautanen, S.-L., & Viskari, E.-L. (2006). In search of drivers for dry sanitation. Land Use and Water Resources Research, 4(6), 4.1-4.9. Retrieved April 18, 2015 from http://purl.umn.edu/48075

VI. Gerwel-Jensen, L., Rautanen, S.-L., & White, P. (2015). Strengthening Behaviour Change Communication in Western Nepal - how can we do better? Waterlines, 34(4), 330-346. doi:10.3362/1756-3488.2015.030

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AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTION

I. Article I: Sanna-Leena Rautanen wrote the article and is the corresponding author.

Antero Luonsi, Henry Nygård, and Heikki Vuorinen commented the overall article and contributed insights into specific thematic areas, such as history of epidemiology and health, and Riikka Rajala gave it its final editorial treatment after the peer review comments.

II. Article II: Sanna-Leena Rautanen defined the research scope, objectives, and methodology, and wrote the article. Rautanen is the corresponding author. Barbara van Koppen commented and contributed the multiple-use insights. Narayan Wagle contributed to the conclusions and recommendations.

III. Article III: Sanna-Leena Rautanen defined the research scope, objectives, and methodology, and wrote the article. Rautanen is the corresponding author. Usha Baaniya facilitated the research process, mobilized the interviewers, and coordinated the related workshops, as well as presented the related conference papers.

IV. Article IV: Sanna-Leena Rautanen defined the research scope, objectives, and

methodology, and wrote the article. Pamela White commented and contributed insights especially into gender equity and social inclusion related items, as well as to

livelihoods aspects.

V. Article V: Sanna-Leena Rautanen wrote the article and is the corresponding author.

Eeva-Liisa Viskari commented and provided inputs to technical and micro-biolgical aspects of dry sanitation, and contributed to the further development of the conceptual graph that was further taken forward in this dissertation by adding multiple-use water systems and services into the same conceptual frame with ecological sanitation,.

VI. Article VI: Sanna-Leena Rautanen was the corresponding author who wrote the first draft. The article builds on the field work and related consultancy report prepared by Lene Gerwel-Jensen, with contributions from Pamela White for sharpening various aspects of the article.

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LIST OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

FOR ARTICLE I

Juuti, P., Mäki, H., & Rautanen, S.-L. (2005). A Comparative Study – Governance of Water and Environmental Services in Long-term perspectives in Selected Countries. 4^th International Water History Association (IWHA) Conference, Paris, France, December 1-4, 2005.

http://www.iwha.org

Mäki, H., Nyangeri Nyanchanga, E., Rautanen, S.-L., & Vuorinen, H. (2007). Governance of Water and Environmental Services in Long-term Perspectives – Epilogue. In: Juuti, P., Katko, T., Mäki, H., Nyangeri Nyanchanga, E., Rautanen, S.-L. & Vuorinen, H. (Eds.), Governance in Water Sector – Comparing development in Kenya, Nepal, South Africa and Finland (pp. 187- 191). Tampere: Tampere University Press.

Rautanen, S.-L. (2007a). In search of effective local water governance - Lessons learned in Nepal. The 5^th International Water History Association (IWHA) Conference, Tampere, Finland, 13-17 June, 2007. http://www.envhist.org

Rautanen, S.-L. (2007b). Past Drivers for the Future - Case Nepal. In: Juuti, P., Katko, T., Mäki, H., Nyangeri Nyanchanga, E., Rautanen, S.-L. & Vuorinen, H. (Eds.), Governance in Water Sector – Comparing development in Kenya, Nepal, South Africa and Finland (pp. 38- 60). Tampere: Tampere University Press.

Rautanen, S.-L. (2007c). Water and Nepal – An Impression. In: Juuti, P.S., Katso, T. S. &

Vuorinen, H. S. (Eds.), Environmental History of Water - Global views on community water supply and sanitation (pp. 563-574). London: IWA Publishing.

FOR ARTICLE II

Rautanen, S.-L. (2012a). Step-By-Step to Good Local Water Governance and Multiple-Use Water Services for Food Security - Reflections from Far Western Nepal. World Water Week in Stockholm, August 26-31, 2012. Abstract volume (pp.105-106) retrieved May 29, 2015 from:

http://www.worldwaterweek.org/documents/Resources/Synthesis/Abstract-Volume-2012.pdf Rautanen, S.-L., & Wagle, N. (2009). Searching for Sustainable Decentralized Systems in Far and Mid Western Nepal – the RVWRMP Experience. International Water Association Third Specialised Conference - Decentralised Water and Wastewater International Network, 11-13 November, 2009, Kathmandu, Nepal.

FOR ARTICLE III

Rautanen, S.-L., & Baaniya, U. (2004). Women’s domain in technical field – investigating the reality of women trained in the technical field in the context of rural water supply and sanitation in Nepal. International Conference on Security and Sustainability in Water Resources,

Kathmandu, Nepal, November 29-30, 2004.

Rautanen, S.-L., & Baaniya, U. (2005). Women Working in the Technical Field in Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in Nepal. The XII^th World Water Congress, New Delhi, India, November 22-25, 2005. International Water Resources Association (IWRA).

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White, P., & Rautanen, S.-L. (2013). A case study of consideration of gender and social inclusion in water resources management and conflict minimisation at the local level in Nepal.

Water Cooperation: Building Partnerships - World Water Week in Stockholm, September 1-6, 2013. Abstract volume (p. 16) retrieved May 29, 2015 from:

http://topraksuenerji.org/World_Water_Week_2013_Abstract.pdf FOR ARTICLE IV

White, P., & Rautanen, S.-L. (2015). Operationalising rights to water and sanitation in Nepal.

Water for Development, World Water Week in Stockholm, August 22-28, 2015. Abstract volume (p. 19-20) retrieved September 8, 2015 from:

http://programme.worldwaterweek.org/sites/default/files/abstract_volume_2015_- _workshop_2_2.pdf

FOR ARTICLE V

Rautanen, S.-L. (2003). Exploring toilet culture where there are no toilets. The 1^st International Dry Toilet Conference, Tampere, Finland, August 20-23, 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2015 from:

http://www.huussi.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Finalreport.pdf

Rautanen, S.-L. (2006a). Calling for good governance for better sanitation in Nepal – how do the dry toilets fit in? The 2^nd International Dry Toilet Conference, Tampere, Finland, August 16- 19, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2015 from: http://www.huussi.net/wp-

content/uploads/2013/08/DT06_Final_Summary.pdf

Rautanen, S.-L. (2009). To Dry or not to dry? – People matter in scaling up dry sanitation. The 3^rd International Dry Toilet Conference, Tampere, Finland, August 12-15, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2015 from: http://www.huussi.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/abstraktikirja_final.pdf Rautanen, S.-L. (2012b). Competing for attention - Sanitation, climate change and priorities in Far Western Nepal. The 4^th International Dry Toilet Conference, Tampere, Finland, August 19- 22, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015 from: http://www.huussi.net/wp-

content/uploads/2013/06/Book_of_Abstracts_4th_International_Dry_Toilet_Conference_2012.

pdf

FOR ARTICLE VI

Rautanen, S.-L. (2015). Solutions to cultural challenges in scaling up dry sanitation in Nepal.

The 5^th International Dry Toilet Conference, Tampere, Finland, August 12-15, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2015 from: http://www.huussi.net/en/activities/dt-2015/dt-2015-full-papers/7- solutions-to-cultural-challenges-and-stigmatization-incl-disabilities-of-dry-sanitation/

FOR CASE STUDIES

Rautanen, S.-L., Seppälä, O., & Skyttä, T. (2006). Health through Sanitation and Water Programme (HESAWA), Tanzania. Ex-Post (Retrospective) Evaluation Study. (SIDA Evaluation 06/36). Stockholm: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). 139 p. Retrieved May 29, 2015 from:

http://www.sida.se/contentassets/308c1b30eb80434090970a3be682b8e2/0636-health- through-sanitation-and-water-programme-hesawa-tanzania_2033.pdf

Rautanen, S.-L. (2006b). Aide Memoire for Design of Capacity Building Program for Local Governments and Service providers for Community Based WSS Services in Rural

Bangladesh 40 p. Submitted to Water and Sanitation Program, World Bank, unpublished consultancy report dated 06.07.2006.

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Rautanen, S.-L. (2006c). Proposed Capacity Building Program for Local Governments and Service Providers for Community Based WSS Services in Rural Bangladesh. 26 p. Submitted to Water and Sanitation Program, World Bank, unpublished consultancy report dated

06.07.2006.

Rautanen, S.-L. (2006d). Similar approaches, dissimilar outcomes: strengthening local

capacity in Nepal and Tanzania. Proceedings of the Symposium on Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation: strengthening capacity for local governance, September 26-28, 2006, Delft, the Netherlands. Retrieved May 29, 2015 from:

http://www.ircwash.org/resources/proceedings-symposium-sustainable-water-supply-and- sanitation-strengthening-capacity-local.

Rautanen, S.-L. (2001). ‘Kaimanau wizai – Kaninui wun’ - Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Beliefs (KAPB Survey) on Water and Environmental Sanitation in 11 Amazon Programme Communities. October 2001. UNICEF Guyana. 109 p. Retrieved May 29, 2015 from:

http://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/827-AAL01-18054.pdf

Rautanen, S.-L. (2000). Assessment of Community Water Supply and Sanitation in Region 9 - Field Report, November 2000. UNICEF Guyana. 42 p. Unpublished.

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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

CADWES Capacity Development in Water and Environmental Services CBO Community-based Organization

CDD Community-driven development

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GESI Gender Equality and Social Inclusion

GLAAS Global analysis and assessment of sanitation and drinking-water

GOWLOP Governance of water and environmental services in long term perspectives GWP Global Water Partnership

HESAWA Health through Sanitation and Water HRBA Human Rights Based Approach

IWHA International Water History Association IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management KAPB Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Practices MDG Millennium Development Goal

MUS Multiple-use of water services NGO Non-governmental Organization O&M Operation and Maintenance

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development RVWRMP Rural Village Water Resources Management Project RWSSSP Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Support Programme RWSSP-WN Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

US$ US Dollar

WASH Water supply, sanitation and hygiene WHO World Health Organization

WSP Water and Sanitation Program WUG Water User Groups

WUMP Water Use Master Plan

WUSC Water Users and Sanitation Committee

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and justification

The lack of adequate and safe drinking water and sanitation, coupled with poor hygiene, imposes an extremely high disease burden on millions of children and adults through a number of diseases, including many types of diarrhoeal diseases, intestinal worms, hepatitis, typhoid, and others. Water and sanitation related sicknesses put severe burdens on people and health services and compromise well-being, productivity, and even school performance, aggravating the cycle of poverty. The main benefits of improved water and sanitation have been seen to be the reduced transmission of water-borne diseases, and benefits that relate to being healthier:

savings in time, savings in medical costs, better school performance, among others. Improving the water security and sanitation of poor people will help to eradicate poverty and support sustainable development in terms of health and in terms of direct and material ways.

Investments in water and sanitation are central to poverty reduction, both in terms of investment in infrastructure itself but also in terms of capacity for change (Soussan, 2004).

Public health has been the traditional concern of the water sector, and this concern is still valid.

World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have estimated that globally 1.8 billion people use a drinking water source that is contaminated with faeces, the contaminated water causing more than 840,000 people to die each year from diarrhoea (WHO/UNICEF, 2014). Of all the deaths attributable to diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries, 90% are children under 5 years old, compared to only 9% in developed countries (WHO/UNICEF, 2010). On the positive side, the number of children dying from diarrhoeal diseases has steadily fallen over the two last decades from approximately 1.5 million deaths in 1990 to just above 600,000 in 2012 (WHO, 2014). In 2015 the situation was improved with regard to drinking water supply but not with regard to sanitation. The Millennium Development Goal drinking water target coverage of 88% was met in 2010 but even then, in 2015, 663 million people still lack improved drinking water sources. Coverage of improved sanitation increased from 49% in 1990 to 68% in 2015 but still in 2015 there are 2.4 billion people who do not have access to improved sanitation (WHO/UNICEF, 2015, pp. 4-5).

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Focusing on rural water and sanitation continues to be justified even in the era of growing urban problems. Water is a satisfier of a basic need and a human right, essential for all aspects of life, also to rural populations. According to WHO (2014), eight out of ten people in rural areas are still without improved drinking water sources, and one billion people still practice open defecation; nine out of ten of them are in rural areas (pp. 4–5). Hutton (2012) estimated the total global economic losses associated with inadequate water supply and sanitation were estimated at US$ 260 billion annually, or 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product of the 136 countries included in the study. It concluded that even with conservative cost benefit estimates, the economic returns were at least two-fold for investments in drinking water supply and at least five-fold for investments in sanitation. The study further confirmed that drinking water supply and sanitation continue to be economically viable (p. 47). Earlier in 2004 Hutton and Haller (2004) with less conservative assumptions concluded that the cost-benefit ratio of water and sanitation interventions is high when all benefits are included, standing at around between US$5 and US$11 economic benefit per US$1 invested for most developing world sub-regions and for most interventions. In some cases the ratio was significantly higher (p. 39).

Despite the efforts of many governments and development agencies, many people still lack access to basic and sustainable water and sanitation services as was indicated by the global figures in the previous paragraphs. The negative impacts of inadequate water and sanitation are being felt especially by women and children. Rural water remains a social service and highly relevant for those women and children who continue to carry water every day, often for long distances, and for those millions who get sick every year and thousands who die. Both ill health and carrying water for long distances keep children out of school. Water is critical to the ecological and environmental services on which the poor depend. The poor both in rural and peri-urban areas need access to water for productive use, such as for irrigation or animal husbandry, to provide basic food security and a livelihood. The poor are in many cases left to make their own, often inadequate, arrangements to meet basic survival needs. The poor are also more likely to be vulnerable to water-related disasters and are the victims of water conflicts, their communities being often located on marginal lands.

Water sector has made several efforts to improve water supply since the International Decade for Water Supply and Sanitation (1981–1990). In the 1980s, the importance of household level practices in transfer of pathogens was recognized and consequently hygiene and sanitation education were integrated into water projects. At that time, the approach was centralized, health-based, and supply-oriented, which has left a strong legacy to many water supply and sanitation projects worldwide. It has been realized that investing in water infrastructure alone with the supply-driven and centralized approach did not result in sustainable and continued services. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 relating to drinking water and sanitation (target 7c) was set to "halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation". In this regard, the Joint Monitoring Programme defined improved drinking water source and safely managed drinking water services. The improved water sources, as defined by the Joint Monitoring Programme, include piped water, public taps or standpipes, tube wells or boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs, and rainwater

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collection. The detailed definitions for both improved sanitation and improved water sources, as well as the different issues that influence access, can be found in WHO/UNICEF (2014, p. 33).

The service level and overall services thinking is increasingly in the agenda in this regard.

Later on, the “International Decade for Action: Water for Life” started in 2005 and renewed effort to MDGs. At that time it was also appreciated that improved water management, sanitation, and hygiene can contribute to realizing all of MDGs: health, reducing hunger, increasing income, and improving the living conditions of the urban poor. In the 1990s, holistic and cross-sectoral approaches to change, institutional economics, and governance were introduced into development debates. At this time, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) introduced its often-cited and applied capacity-development framework with its interrelated dimensions: individual, entities, or the system as a whole. Individual learning, organization, and an enabling environment were the three guiding elements that are also taken as the external frame of reference in this dissertation (UNDP, 1997).

In 2014, the United Nations Water global analysis and assessment of sanitation and drinking water (GLAAS 2014) results indicated that to improve access and reduce inequalities beyond 2015, much needs to be done to effectively implement and monitor water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) policies at national level. The GLAAS 2014 found that the governments show strong support for universal access to drinking water and sanitation, and that two thirds of the 94 countries studied recognize both drinking water and sanitation as a human right in national legislation. Yet, regardless of political aspirations, they are impeded by weak capacity at country level to set targets, formulate plans, undertake implementation, and conduct meaningful reviews. The GLAAS 2014 found critical gaps in monitoring decision-making and progress for poorest, the weak monitoring capacity being one of these critical gaps. It also highlighted that neglect for WASH in schools and health care facilities undermines a country’s capacity to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks. On the positive side, it found that international aid for WASH has increased and regional targeting has improved, and countries’

capacity to absorb donor commitments has increased. Yet, lack of human resources constrains the sector, sanitation in rural areas needs more effort, and hygiene promotion is lacking behind (WHO, 2014, pp. ix–xi).

The human rights based approach (HRBA) to development places the poor at the centre of the initiation, design, oversight, and evaluation of the development projects, programmes and policies that affect them particularly. Non-discrimination, inclusiveness, and equality underline development programmes and policies, and corruption, inefficiency, and overall non- transparency are considered ethically wrong, constituting an aggression against humanity. The rights-based approach also calls for connecting people’s participation and voices with national and international policy processes and international rights frameworks (Ackerman, 2005, p. 7).

Many countries, including Finland, have committed to HRBA. Finland’s development policy is an integral part of Finland’s foreign and security policy. Finland’s Development Policy and Programme Government Decision-in-principle 16.02.2012 is committed to a rights-based approach. It is essentially a value-based development policy that promotes the core human rights principles such as universality, self-determination, non-discrimination, and equality. All

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people have an equal right to influence and participate in the definition and implementation of development. The policy makes specific reference to the need to improve the availability and quality of water (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, 2012, p. 11).

This dissertation takes the United Nations General Assembly resolution 64/292 “the human right to water and sanitation” and the Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/18/1 on “the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation” as the core justifications for the study. The General Assembly resolution 64/292 recognizes the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights. The Human Rights Council resolution 24/L.31 recognizes that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use and to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity (A/HRC/24/L.31). HRBA integrates the norms, principles, standards, and goals of the international human rights system into development plans and processes. It is closely linked to national and international legal responsibilities, and identifies rights-holders and duty-bearers.

These are the rationale for this dissertation: strengthening the capacity of rights-holders and duty-bearers is of utmost importance for rights to be realized. Also the cross-cutting themes are highlighted: gender equality, reduction of inequality, and climate sustainability are the cross- cutting objectives of Finland’s development policy and development cooperation, and highly relevant for the water sector as will be discussed in this dissertation.

Poverty is complex, multidimensional, and varied in both its causes and forms. Conventional measures of poverty, such as level of nutrition or daily income expressed in monetary terms, are important indicators but do not describe the real nature of poverty or the potentials that exist to lift people out of poverty (Soussan, 2004). Success in rural development is crucial for the eradication of poverty. In this dissertation, the multiple-use of water services (MUS) and livelihoods context are highlighted, taking the need for water beyond the basic need. These are the reasons why this dissertation will not limit its scope to domestic drinking water supply only, but rather, seeks to operationalize the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) concept to community-context through the MUS paradigm. For more on MUS, see MUS Group website for links.

1.2 Study context

In rural water sector, such paradigms as participatory approaches, demand-driven approach, community management, and local water governance give opportunities to address the level where the services are meant to be delivered in terms of getting access to water and sanitation:

at the community level. Decentralization of water services and good local water governance are relevant themes, even if the more recent trend does appear to be to shift attention from the community level back to the central level, the sector-wide programmes and budget support

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arrangements relying on the (often centralized) government structures to deliver the necessary support functions and capacity-related tasks at the community level.

At the same time, the development of sustainable capacity needs greater and more careful attention to avoid failed development efforts. In this regard, capacity development is a leading theme in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) that has guided the donor community over the past decade. Here capacity development is taken as a necessarily endogenous process, strongly led from within a country, with donors playing a supporting role. According to this vision, political leadership and the prevailing political and governance system are critical factors in creating opportunities and setting limits for capacity-development efforts. (Box 1.1).

The Accra Agenda for Action (2008) stated that “without robust capacity – strong institutions, systems, and local expertise – developing countries cannot fully own and manage their development processes” (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), 2005/2008, p. 16). The Accra Agenda agreed that the aid effectiveness principles cannot be equally applied in fragile situations, such as in countries emerging from conflict. Investing in capacities for sustainable development continues to be high in the agenda, as are the new proposed post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

Box 1.1 Capacity development in the Paris Declaration

Development aid is undeniably a factor in this study. Most of the data originates from a project context: four of the peer-reviewed articles and one of the case studies are embedded into the bi-lateral project context, and two of the case studies into multilateral project context. Yet, these were not traditional project contexts as such but rather, hybrids in between the “project” and

“programme” approaches. All the projects studied were embedded into the local government structures, not aiming to bypass any country systems but actually to strengthen them.

The entire dissertation stems from the author’s personal work experience with the bi-lateral and multilateral water and sanitation development cooperation since 2000. This is hereby acknowledged as a possible source of bias, and attention is paid to what extent the interpretations made can be influenced by personal, first-hand positive experience in the field.

The capacity to plan, manage, implement, and account for results of policies and programmes, is critical for achieving development objectives from analysis and dialogue through implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Capacity development is the responsibility of partner countries with donors playing a support role. It needs not only to be based on sound technical analysis, but also to be responsive to the broader social, political, and economic environment, including the need to strengthen human resources.

Partner countries commit to: Integrating specific capacity-strengthening objectives in national development strategies and pursuing their implementation through country-led capacity development strategies where needed.

Donors commit to: Aligning their analytic and financial support with partners’ capacity development objectives and strategies, making effective use of existing capacities, and harmonising support for capacity development accordingly.

Source: OECD, 2006. Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005)

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At the same time, the author has made an attempt to examine the projects with open eyes, considering both successes and failures and paying attention to the results as they are and as they are reported or documented during the research process.

Ideally, dynamic capacity change could be an endogenous process, triggered from inside, not dependent on external financial or other support, something that is taking place and will take place whether or not there is any external intervention. From the external intervention point of view, we can identify at least three main layers that influence change: 1) no external support at all (self-help paradigm); 2) external support from the national government to the local governments to the communities (government programmes); and 3) external support from specific projects and/or programmes through a range of arrangements (donor supported projects and programmes, both through governmental and non-governmental organizations).

All these are valid contexts for this dissertation.

The study context is also considered as complex. Complex systems can behave in non-linear ways and produce escalating levels of unintended consequences through spontaneous self- organization. Baser and Morgan (2008) note how “complex systems such as organisations, if they are to develop their capacity, must learn and evolve as they face discontinuous changes in their context over time. They must self-organise, adapt and create some sort of a new order and state of coherence” (p. 15). Baser (2009) prefers to apply the theory and practice of complex adaptive systems to appreciate the fact that there are also emergent properties in the system that are not simply a sum of the different elements but “which has to do with the constant need of complex systems to organise themselves into patterns and structures” (Baser, 2009, p. 124).

Baser (2009) further suggests that single interventions such as training alone “are not likely to make a significant difference to system behaviour unless they represent a key point of leverage that can shift system behaviour” (pp. 123–124). In this dissertation references are made to

‘institutional bricolage’ that is essentially about self-organization as introduced by Cleaver (2012): “a process in which people consciously and non-consciously draw on existing social formulae to patch together institutions in response to changing situation” (p. 45).

1.3 Problem statement

In many countries, both the community and the local government level institutions are still struggling to deliver sustainable and equitable water and sanitation services, as is evident from the figures given in Chapter 1.1. The global impacts of these missing services were also described in the previous chapters. Several authors, as discussed in the following chapters, have identified the challenge of still missing or non-functional rural water services and lack of sanitation, despite the achievements made over the past decades. There are a range of recommendations accordingly, often making a reference to capacity and institutional development.

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The problem is complex. While rural water and sanitation technology as artefacts may be very simple and not particularly expensive, the overall management and governance system, and its dynamics, are complex. Here complexity indicates a degree of difficulty in defining causal linkages of an event – we may be able to identify individual reasons for successes and failures in rural water and sanitation services, yet, the individual linkages cannot explain all the reasons and causal linkages there are, especially when adding an increasingly long-term time dimension.

Complexity also implies difficulty of determining the boundaries of effects to make it possible to manage them with any degree of accuracy and confidence that makes sense: water flows through many types of livelihoods, interests, and boundaries, including administrative boundaries and ones created by various uses of water and sectors linked therein. The question of the right to water as a human right is also highly complex. In this dissertation, the multiple- use water services paradigm broadens the scope from drinking water to water for both domestic and productive uses.

This study considers the research problem as a potentially wicked problem that is embedded with notions of complexity. In planning and management policy, according to Fitz Gibbon and Mensah (2012), the term wicked problem is used to refer to adverse social and environmental situations that overwhelm existing practices and persist even after the application of best-known practices. According to the authors, wicked problems will not be solved by the same tools and processes that have created them, but rather, solutions must be explored via mechanisms and paths different from those that have perpetuated the problem in the first place. Fitz Gibbon and Mensah (2012) further note that from an interventionist perspective, a “do-nothing” approach can be a reasonable option for a problem that defies best intervention practices. In this dissertation, however, a “do-nothing” approach to rural water and sanitation problems is not an acceptable option from the human rights perspective.

The research task for this dissertation is the need to develop futures-oriented frame of reference to enable programming for a dynamic capacity development of both the duty-bearers and the rights-holders in the rural water and sanitation sector programmes and projects, considering that the dilemma is potentially both complex and wicked, and changing in time.

1.4 Objective, purpose, and research questions

The overall objective, i.e., the broader development objective to which this study contributes, is to increase the number of rural water and sanitation sector specific policies, programmes, and projects that meaningfully address the dynamic futures-oriented capacity development needs of both the duty-bearers and the rights-holders at the local government and community levels.

The purpose, i.e., the specific objective and expected end-result of this dissertation, is to provide a futures-oriented frame of reference that can be used to develop policies, programmes, and projects to inspire continued learning, adaptation, and innovation in the face of ever-new

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challenges in a volatile and unpredictable local and global environment, in a system that is already complex at present time. Achieving the purpose contributes to achievement of the overall objective which also depends on other contributing factors.

The leading research question is: what kind of frame of reference would guide formulation of rural water and sanitation relevant policies, programmes, and projects that inspire continued learning, adaptation, and innovation in the face of ever-new challenges in a volatile and unpredictable local and global environment? This task is addressed by asking the following sub- questions with reference to six peer reviewed articles and three case studies:

1. What has triggered positive lasting change in the past? What kind of barriers to change and challenges are evident?

2. What is learned with regard to human resource development? What are the lessons that relate to organizations and institutional development? What is learned with regard to the enabling environment, and what seems to be missing?

3. How can the present frame of reference be improved by including futures-thinking to make it more dynamic and responsive to change that may not always be predictable?

The research process is cyclic, the various results building on each other (Figure 1.1). The process as such is iterative and looking back is allowed. It is also in line with action research that guided four out of six peer reviewed articles, encouraging continuous learning also in this regard. The futures context adds the long-term time dimension, and as such serves evidence- based and futures-oriented policy making. At this point in time, this synthesis reaches the point where the new frame is entering its real-life application stage. It has been tested and validated with the colleagues in Nepal when finalizing this synthesis, but not applied at scale.

Figure 1.1 Research process

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1.5 Structure and scope of research

This dissertation draws from a wide range of activities and assignments the author has been involved with over the past fifteen years working on four continents and in five countries in Finland, Nepal, Guyana, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. This study consists of six international peer-reviewed scientific articles and a scientific synthesis based on these articles, other supporting documents, and a literature review, as well as the three case studies from Bangladesh, Guyana, and Tanzania.

Chapter 2 provides the wider theoretical framework. It seeks conceptual clarity through literature review to define the key dimensions of this study. Chapter 3 outlines the methodological considerations that apply to all materials used in this dissertation. Chapter 4 introduces the Articles I to VI and the case studies in more detail, and elaborates findings with regard to research question areas 1 and 2 (Results I and II). These are further discussed in Chapter 5 where the futures-thinking is added (Result III). This chapter also includes the triangulation, notes on validity and reliability of the results, assessment, and self-evaluation. Chapter 6 concludes the findings and recommends the need for further research. Figure 1.2 shows the structure of the research.

Figure 1.2 Structure of the research

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Article I explored the historical long-term changes in understanding the links between sanitation, water, and health in the global context. The drivers and triggers for change from the past are used in this study in the future context, looking at the evidence that relates to capacity development. This article brings in the historical elements.

Article II focused on the key theme of this dissertation: rural water systems and service delivery for poverty alleviation through MUS, improved environmental conditions for health, and sustainable livelihoods. The empirical data originates from the poorest and remotest corner of Nepal, showing how capacity change processes at different levels through holistic participatory planning and implementation.

Article III provided insights into gender and water through a case of training women in water- related technical works in Nepal. It added real-life capacity development experience while mainstreaming gender policies in water sector. These are further reflected in the present-day context of rights-based approach which, in addition to gender equality, is also concerned about social inclusion. All these are valid elements for the frame of reference.

Article IV studied MUS for both domestic and livelihoods purpose, building the capacity of the water users’ committees and related stakeholders and making it happen through inclusive planning and learning-by-doing. This article highlights the holistic local government level planning context as an element of an enabling environment.

Article V explored a range of research and real-life experiences dealing with one sector alone:

sanitation. Similarly to Article I, this article has a global perspective but focuses on one precise sector alone: ecological sanitation.

Article VI explored behaviour change triggering and related communications in the context of sanitation and hygiene. Behaviour change triggering is here considered an increasingly important element of capacity development that aims to change how people behave, not only what people know.

The Case Bangladesh provides the local government perspective in a country where there is a strong civil society and private sector; the Case Guyana focuses on the human resource development; and the Case Tanzania describes the perspective of the local governments and water users who benefited from a bi-lateral water programme. All these themes are evident in Articles II, III, IV, and VI. The author has also presented, debated, and disseminated the findings through a number of international conferences which as such have added further global perspectives through expert dialogue during these events. Some of these have been used as references in this dissertation.

Figure 1.3 below places the articles and case studies into different spheres as reviewed through literature in the following chapter, each nesting in each other.

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Figure 1.3 Wider theoretical framework

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2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Key definition: capacity

This sub-chapter focuses on the key definition of the core concept only: ‘capacity’. There are a number of expressions for changing capacity, all with their own connotations: “capacity-building”,

“capacity development”, “capacity-strengthening”, and “capacity enhancement.” The more recent literature also uses the terms “knowledge and capacity development”, “capacity change”, and “dynamic capacity change”. It is a complex and multi-dimensional concept, and consequently there is an ambiguity of the capacity-related concepts that are consequences of various heterogeneous definitions made over the decades. The different definitions provoke different connotations and interpretations and related practical applications. “Capacity” can defined as “the ability of people, organisations and society as a whole to manage their affairs successfully” (OECD, 2006, p. 12).

The definitions vary from a narrow definition focused on strengthening organizations and skills to a much broader definition that encompasses levels of capacity from the individual to the whole of society (Gwin, Ed., 2005, p. 7). Capacity “enhancement” and “strengthening” give an idea of improving something that already exists, while “capacity-building” gives an impression of building something new. This expression is getting outdated as the “building” metaphor suggests a process starting with a plain surface and involving building a new structure based on a preconceived design, while experience suggests that capacity is not successfully enhanced in this way (OECD, 2006, p. 12). Also Pultar and Rabitsch (2011) add that capacity-building was taken for a long time as a process that was initiated by external institutions who were also responsible for it (pp. 6–7). UNDP (2009), among others, assumes now that the developing countries should own, design, direct, implement, and sustain the process themselves, and that UNDP’s capacity development should focus on empowering and strengthening endogenous capabilities.

These definitions highlight a successful capacity development as “an endogenous change process that must be initiated by the actors concerned, i.e. individuals, organisations and society

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as a whole in the partner countries, and that they also must take over the responsibility for it”

(Pultar & Rabitsch, 2011, pp. 6–7). Otoo, Agapitova, and Behrens (2009) propose two operational definitions: capacity for development and capacity development (or capacity- building). Here “capacity for development” is related to the availability of resources and the efficiency and effectiveness with which societies deploy these resources. Increasing the capacity for development, by extension, is a process of socio-political, policy-related, and organizational change, and learning is seen as a strategic instrument of economic and social change. “Capacity development”, in turn, is considered as a locally driven learning process by local agents of change that brings about changes in socio-political, policy-related, and organizational factors to enhance local ownership for and the effectiveness and efficiency of efforts to achieve a development goal (p. 3).

Global Water Partnership (GWP) has given a range of definitions, for institutional capacity is a highly valid concern for successful implementation of IWRM principles. GWP defined IWRM in its often-cited publication in 2000, describing institutional capacity-building as a means of enhancing performance. Specifically in the context of IWRM, capacity-building was considered as “the sum of efforts to nurture, enhance and utilise the skills and capabilities of people and institutions at all levels – locally, nationally, regionally and internationally – so that they can make better progress towards a broader goal. At the basic conceptual level, building capacity involves empowering and equipping people and organisations with appropriate tools and sustainable resources to solve their problems, rather than attempting to fix such problems directly” (p. 50). This is linked to institutional mandates and devolution of institutional responsibilities, functions, and jurisdictions (p. 51). Capacity of an institution should match its institutional mandate.

The term “knowledge and capacity development” draws attention to the fact that development is about capacity that rests on knowledge. Polanyi in 1958 distinguished between explicit (or focal) and tacit knowledge, where tacit knowledge is the tool to handle what is being focused, and which often is taken for granted. Its transfer requires different learning processes:

“information in itself is low-value and receives its meaning only through the context of tacit knowledge” (Alaerts, 2009, p. 7). Alaerts considered knowledge management as an important dimension of capacity change, noting that knowledge and capacity are intricately linked. He defines capacity as “the capability of a society or a community to identify and understand issues, to act to address these, and to learn from experience and accumulate knowledge for the future”

(Alaerts, 2009, p. 12).

Another approach to capacity is to study it from the performance point of view. Sastre Merino and de los Ríos Carmenado (2012) present a framework to analyse the critical elements of capacity at individual and social levels that promote success over time, dividing them in three dimensions: technical, behavioural, and contextual. Within this framework, the changes in capacity can be analysed by looking at changes in performance and outcomes (p. 965). Engel, Keijzer, and Land (2007) proposed a five-step model for assessing capacity and performance.

The qualitative pointers aimed to focus on the process, opportunities, and key moments rather

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than on precise types of changes that are not predictable in advance. In other words, what we expect to see (or not) are changes in: the capability to survive and act; the capability to generate development results; the capability to relate; the capability to adapt and self-renew; and the capability to achieve and maintain coherence (p. 10). Baser (2009) suggests five central characteristics or aspects of capacity that can give it substantive and operational shape (pp.

127–128):

 Capacity is about empowerment and identity, properties that allow an organisation or a group to be aware of itself, to grow, diversify, survive and become more complex (…)

 Capacity has to do with collective action—the collective capabilities that allow groups, organisations, or groups of organisations to be able to do something with some sort of intention, with some sort of effectiveness and at some sort of scale over time;

 Capacity as a state or condition is inherently a systems phenomenon. (…) It comes out of a complex interplay of attitudes, assets, resources, strategies and skills, both tangible and intangible. It has technical, organisational and social aspects. It emerges from the positioning of an organisation or system within a particular context. And it usually deals with a soup of complex technical, organisational and social activities that cannot be addressed through exclusively functional interventions;

 Capacity is a potential state. It is about latent as opposed to kinetic energy, about being not doing. Performance, in contrast, is about execution and implementation or the result of the application and use of capacity. Given this latent quality, capacity is dependent to a large degree on intangibles (…);

 Capacity is about the creation of public value. (…) the strengthening of the capacity of a group or system to produce public goods and public value.

Here the “empowerment” is defined as a group’s or individuals’ capacity to make effective choices and then transform these choices into desired actions and outcomes (Alsop, Bertelsen,

& Holland, 2006, pp. 10–11), and with these, into services and benefits.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognizes that capacity development is at the core of its mandate and one of its most important result areas within its work on agriculture and rural development. FAO (2010) takes the Paris/Accra Aid Effectiveness Agenda as the point of entry for its corporate strategy on capacity development. FAO’s capacity- development framework is based on the enhancement of technical and functional capacities across three dimensions (Figure 2.1): individual, organizational, and the enabling environment.

Technical capacities are needed to achieve the number of food and agriculture related strategic objectives, such as to intensify production sustainably, to manage natural resources, and to eventually improve food safety and security for all (FAO, 2010, p. 5). Four functional capacities

“enable countries and (sub)regions to plan, lead, manage and sustain change initiatives in agriculture and rural development to ensure that technical know-how is embodied in local systems and processes in a sustainable way: a) Policy and Normative: capacities to formulate and implement policies and lead policy reform; b) Knowledge: capacities to access, generate,

Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All

Sanna-Leena Rautanen

Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for

Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All

Julkaisu 1373 • Publication 1373

Sanna-Leena Rautanen

Access to Water? Dynamic Capacity Change for

Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Services for All

ABSTRACT

TIIVISTELMÄ

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

May All Beings Be Happy!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF BOXES

LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS

AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTION

LIST OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and justification

1.2 Study context

1.3 Problem statement

1.4 Objective, purpose, and research questions

1.5 Structure and scope of research

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Key definition: capacity